Reviewer qualifications

I'm disturbed that a volunteer reviewer gave my second novel --- The China-Africa Parallax: A Ryan and Gillian Mystery --- a cynical, 2-star review. The reviewer has confused a major character with a very, very minor one, has garbled the plot, and has criticized the novel in a provincial manner. Potential readers will find the review off-putting...for many wrong reasons! I guess I'm a writer now, putting up with mindless grievances from a volunteer who just doesn't quite get it.

I'll be back!

I've gone missing for several days and my work on novel #3 is on Spring Holiday. My detour has been one of theological development, however, reading John Shelby Spong's book Eternal Life: A New Vision and his Christianity Must Change. A serious reader can't fly through these texts in haste. Spong's ideas require a  slower wpm!

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, celebrated more abroad than in Mexico, commemorates the Battle of Puebla which took place on May 5, 1862. The underdog victory for Mexico pushed French forces out of the state of Puebla against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. That holiday, which is more widely honored in Mexico, is actually celebrated on September 16.

So how did the day become so popular in the U.S.?

Aside from marketing and other commercial reasons for furthering the holiday, many view the day as a way to further the cultural significance of the holiday, according to MTV. However, it's key to acknowledge that liquor companies and Mexican restaurants have had a lot to do with bolstering the holiday, using it as an excuse to go a little crazy.

In any case, take the day to sit back, relax, and crack open a Corona, or a Tecate (or a Negro Modelo or a Dos XX) and honor the underdog victory.